My column last week focused on the federal government’s covert
program to directly supply firearms to Mexican drug cartels. The
program was discovered by a congressional investigation after a
Mexican gang using a firearm–or firearms–supplied to it by the ATF,
murdered a US Border Patrol agent.

A subsequent article written by Justin Raimondo sheds even more light
on this disgusting debacle. Raimondo writes, “While the US military
is being sent overseas in search of monsters to destroy, ignoring the
good advice of the Founders, closer to home another war is
brewing–right on the US-Mexican border. Border Patrol agent Brian A.
Terry, killed on Dec. 21 near Rio Rico, Arizona, was murdered by drug
cartel gunmen–using weapons smuggled across the US-Mexican border
under the auspices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
(BATF).

“While the cartels shoot up half of Mexico, and terrorize the other
half, it seems they’ve been getting a helping hand from those
geniuses in Washington, whose ‘law enforcement’ agencies knowingly
allowed sophisticated firearms to be smuggled across the border, into
Mexico. As BATF special agent John Dodson told the House Oversight
Committee:

“‘This is not a matter of some weapons that had gotten away from
us or allowing a few to walk so that we could follow them to a much
larger significant target. Allowing loads of weapons that we knew to
be destined for criminals was the plan. This was the mandate.

“‘ATF is supposed to be the guardians–the sheep dogs that
protect against the wolves that prey upon us–especially along our
southern border. But rather than meet the wolf head on, we sharpened
his teeth, added number to his claws, all the while we sat idly by
watching, tracking, and noting as he became a more efficient and
effective predator.’

“This goes way beyond mere ‘blowback’–the CIA’s terminology
for actions that produce unintended and unpleasant consequences.
Because it’s hard to fathom exactly what was intended–unless it was
the desire to sow chaos in Mexico and create a new threat to US
citizens in the border states.”

Raimondo goes on to write, “Governments don’t allow such large
weapons shipments to pass over their borders to foreign customers
without having some foreign policy objective in mind–and, when it
comes to the empire-builders in Washington, what other purpose could
it be than the expansion of the imperial frontiers?

“Brushing aside the official explanation and excuses, when you look
at what Operation Fast and Furious actually accomplished–the arming
and consolidation of a military force currently fighting Mexico’s
armed forces–the conclusion that we are actively involved in
destabilizing the Mexican government is hard to avoid. It is a simple
statement of fact.”

Raimondo continues, “The embattled Mexican government has barely
been able to keep order, as the cartels rampage through the country,
slaughtering thousands and dominating entire provinces: dead bodies
keep turning up in droves, and it seems like a day hardly passes
without some spectacular display of violence in a major Mexican city.
Whole police forces are deserting, not out of disloyalty but out of
fear–fear that the government is losing its grip and the drug cartels
are about to take over.

“In this context, to put thousands of weapons in the hands of
highly-organized criminals is inconceivable-unless the plan is to
bring the Mexican government down and create chaos.”

Then, Raimondo draws a particularly astute observation by saying,
“For years, our elites have been trying to forge links among the
three nations that make up North America: ‘free trade’ zones that
aren’t free, coordination of military and law enforcement agencies,
etc. Some are even proposing a somewhat loopy-sounding ‘North
American Union,’ supposedly with its own currency–the
‘Amero’–although officials (and the mainstream media) deny it,
claiming it’s a rumor started by the hated ‘conspiracists.’ In
the face of this criminal conspiracy carried out with the
collaboration of several US government agencies, however, one has to
wonder about the real purpose of Operation Fast and Furious.

“With Mexico at the mercy of US-armed drug gangs, and the central
government in Mexico City about to lose control, the introduction of
US troops to ‘keep order’ is entirely within the realm of
possibility. In that case, the North American Union will become a
reality, in fact if not in the formal sense–and the latter can be
arranged quickly enough.

“Call me a ‘conspiracist,’ if it makes you feel better, but
when it comes to the crack-brained schemes of our wise rulers, it
seems to me there’s no limit to their ability to sow tragedy and
terror wherever they tread. They did it in Iraq, they’re doing it in
Afghanistan, and they’ve been doing it for decades throughout the
world–why should Mexico be immune?”

I ask readers, can the US government’s foreign policy get any
worse? The answer is probably YES! It’s been getting worse for a
long time, and absent a President in Washington, D.C., with the mental
acumen and the internal fortitude to put a stop to it, it WILL get a
lot worse!

Globalist elitists have been extremely influential in America’s
foreign policy since the administration of Woodrow Wilson, and they
have thoroughly dominated America’s foreign policy since the
administration of George Bush I. Surprisingly, the last President to
attempt to defy the globalists might have been John F. Kennedy. And
look what happened to him.

I had a retired US Air Force Brigadier General–who had experience in
both the Pentagon and the White House–tell me that Kennedy was
murdered for three reasons: 1) He wanted to abolish the Federal
Reserve, 2) He wanted to dismantle the CIA, 3) He wanted to bring US
forces home from Vietnam. All three of those plans, if enacted, would
have struck at the very heart of the globalists’ evil machinations
for America. A phony, fiat money system, constant foreign
entanglements and intervention, and perpetual foreign wars is the holy
trifecta of the globalist agenda.

When will voters, especially conservative and Christian voters, wake
up to the reality that electing a “conservative” or
“Christian” President is absolutely meaningless unless this
President understands the globalist make-up of America’s current
foreign policy and would be willing to risk his life to undo it! This
is why Ron Paul is the only Presidential candidate who would make any
difference in Washington, D.C. Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Huntsman,
Palin, Perry, Romney, and Santorum are either clueless in this regard,
or in the case of Gingrich and Perry, are active fellow-travelers in
the march toward a globalist New World Order. Ron Paul is the only
candidate who not only “gets it” but also is adamantly opposed to
it.

So, while Americans are focused on Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and
Yemen (and, yes, these wars fit in with the globalists’ agenda as
well), the US government is busy stirring up war and revolution a
whole lot closer to home. And if you think it doesn’t matter whether
a constitutionalist President (Christian or not) is elected, you might
want to speak to the family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Israel was beautiful. Israel always is. But this trip to Israel was different than any other I’ve been on — and “different” does not always mean the same thing as “good.” If you love Glenn Beck and believe that he is both a good Christian and an honest man, perhaps today’s Omega Letter (OL) isn’t for you. I am going to be as charitable as possible, under the circumstances, but I have to call it as I see it.

Today’s review is primarily theological — later we will discuss the political elements of the tour and how our presence was received in Israel. There was a lot of really good stuff — but first things first.

We must begin at the beginning, inside a cloud of deliberate deception. Glenn Beck said that he had investigated the tour companies involved thoroughly, and recommended Voyager Travel as the one that he knew best.

So we also checked out Voyager Travel at their Web site. I didn’t do a very good job, as it turned out. As you can see from the link above, Voyager Travel is represented as a secular tour company with tours to Norway, England, Alaska, Denmark, and oh, by the way, a special Restoring Courage event in Israel by Glenn Beck. It seemed ok.

I personally never expected the tour to be “religious” — there were far too many different Christian denominations and other religious faiths among us, including a number of Jews, atheists or agnostics who came specifically to attend the Glenn Beck events and demonstrate their political support for the State of Israel.

During one of the few times that I had access to the Internet while on the tour, I had reason to Google Voyager Travel, seeking information about our itinerary.

I don’t know how I missed it from home — (maybe the excitement of the trip?) but I didn’t Google it before signing up — I went directly to the URL recommended by Beck.

Had I Googled first, I might have notice that directly below the Voyager site was a mirror site of LDS Travel — identical in every respect to Voyager Travel, except that LDS Travel makes it clear that it is a Latter Days Saints Church operation.

The Voyager site is scrubbed clean of any reference to LDS — although the two sites were clearly the same. So, instead of signing up with a secular touring company, we were inadvertently contributing financial support to the LDS church.
In other words, we were contributing (to whatever degree,) to the advancement of Mormon LDS doctrine and missionary work.

It soon became clear that the event was a Mormon religious tour carefully disguised as a “Christian” tour. To maintain that fiction, the tour planners engaged a “Christian” guide service — which meant in this case that it was led by a Greek Orthodox Catholic guide.

George was a terrific guy to be around and an excellent tour guide — if one went to Israel to tour sites important to the Greek Orthodox Church — or those dedicated to Mary. When it came to Mary, George informed us, the Bible was wrong.
In Mark 15:40 and Mark 16:1 where it says that Mary was the mother of James the less, Joses, and Salome, George told us, “This is not true.” George insisted that Mary was ever virgin and Jesus did not have any half-brothers or sisters.

Sites dedicated to Mary were high on George’s list; although we missed many sites listed in the itinerary to accommodate Glenn Beck’s constantly-changing schedule, we didn’t miss any of the “Mary” sites, like the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Grotto, or the Wedding Chapel in Cana.

I say that to illustrate the religious nature of the “Christian” tour set up by Voyager Travel, which was supposed to be “non-denominational with a Christian perspective.” That should have tipped us off — to non-Christians, Christianity is determined by church affiliation, not doctrine.

Christians know that Christianity is a matter of doctrine, not church affiliation. One can be a member of a church and not be a Christian, or not be a member of any church, in some instances, because they are Christian.

We also noticed very early on that our bus had about a half-dozen overtly Mormon members, and probably another half-dozen who kept it to themselves.

But whenever a discussion erupted that questioned LDS participation, whether or not the LDS was actually running things, or whether all the tour leaders were Mormons, one of our Mormon ‘minders’ would quickly appear to change the subject.

If the topic was Mormon doctrine, several Mormons would attach themselves to the discussion to ‘correct misconceptions’. Some of the Christians in our group renamed them “The Decepticons”.

It will take a series of OL columns to discuss the tour itself. Much of the tour was good. There were many, many unexpected blessings. Today is simply the introduction.
But as the title of today’s OL implies, most of the expected blessings were not there. (The blessings were not associated with Glenn Beck.)

Assessment:
The best place to begin, I think, is with a statement made by Glenn Beck at the first event in Caesarea-by-the-Sea in the very same open-air theatre in which Paul the Apostle was put on trial before King Herod Agrippa.

(A Roman amphitheatre is a completely round structure. A theatre is shaped like a half moon, as is the one in Caesarea.)

It was in that very theatre that the saddest eight words in the New Testament are recorded when Agrippa said to Paul:
“Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28)
(I wish I could have persuaded Glenn Beck, but this picture is as close as I ever got to him.)

It was there, on that very spot, that Glenn Beck recited the wonderful reception he received by Israeli political leaders, Jewish rabbis and even several Muslim leaders.
Only the Christian leaders received any word of condemnation from Glenn Beck, who choked up with tears when he said accusingly, “it was only the Christians that questioned my salvation.”

What Beck was insinuating in no uncertain terms was that those Christians who questioned his salvation were more intolerant, less good, and less, ummm, Christian than were the two thousand or so Americans sitting in that open-air theatre in Caesarea.

We will start with that statement, since it immediately divided the group into ‘camps’ and set the stage for the rest of the tour.

He made that statement, from the very place King Agrippa was almost persuaded, while surrounded by famous born-again Christian authors like David Barton, John Hagee and Mike Evans, all of whom took time out from their own sermons to salute Beck’s “courageousness” in offering his support to Israel. (Maybe so, but I personally thought the thousands that forked over more than $6000 apiece to come to Israel as Hamas rockets were pounding the Israeli coastal cities were just as courageous — and they weren’t getting paid to be there.)

Significantly, not one of the famous born-again evangelists questioned Glenn Beck’s salvation, although Glenn Beck made it clear that the issue at hand was the status of Glenn Beck’s salvation through aegis of the LDS (Mormon) church.
Given Beck’s statement, offered more as an accusation of those unnamed ‘Christian leaders’ than anything else, it seems essential to me that we examine salvation as the Mormons define it:
Mormons believe God is not eternal, or even the only God, but was who inhabited a planet in the star system, Kolob. They believe they are saved by obeying Mormon doctrine. They believe that God had a god that elevated God to godhood and that they, too, can be elevated to godhood.
They believe they lived as full-grown adults (the Doctrine of Pre-existence) in a spirit world before they were born. In Pre-Existence, they had friends and family and relationships and knowledge. While there, they were presented with the Plan of Salvation, which included being given a choice to be born as humans with the prize at the end being godhood of their own planet.
They didn’t have to and some were content to stay in the spirit world where they were already in heaven instead of taking the plunge and getting a shot at being God.
They believe that when their spirits passed into existence, they also passed through a Veil of Forgetfulness where they forgot their previous spirit lives. Here, they recreate their pre-existent families as eternal families.
Jesus and Satan were brothers and God liked Jesus’ plan best so Satan rebelled. Mormons don’t believe in the sin nature, or ‘original sin’.
Mormons believe the purpose of human existence is to become like God. Mormons also believe it is ok to lie about their beliefs and affiliations to non-Mormons and to new Mormon recruits under the ‘principle’ of “milk before meat.”.
So they are free to deny the crazier parts, (God was a man, there are lots of Gods, including them, they take spirit wives to become goddesses, etc.) on the principle that until a Mormon has been sufficiently indoctrinated, they will recognize how crazy it sounds and maybe refuse to join or even quit and then spread the word.
Mormons believe that after they die, they move back to the spirit world. Some of them are imprisoned for not believing the Mormon gospel while on earth. Those that never heard the Mormon Gospel will be visited by Mormon spirit missionaries.
Mormons believe that the dead can be saved after death if they are baptized by proxy by living Mormons.
Mormons in this spirit world can still sin:
“Those who are righteous in this life will still be righteous. Those who were unrighteous will still be unrighteous. We will have the same desires after we die as we had while on this earth” (Gospel Fundamentals, “Life after Death,” pg 195.).
Resurrection is in several parts and only those who had a perfect knowledge of the divinity of Christ yet chose Satan will be damned. The rest will go through various stages of perfection while in the post-life spirit world.
Finally, if you miss your dog, don’t worry. Fido, (as well as every other dog, cat, hamster, pigeon, aardvark and platypus) will ALSO be resurrected during the last of the, umm, seven different resurrections taught by the LDS.
The Mormon Plan of Salvation is in seven parts as well, with final stage, logically enough, called the Final Judgment.
At Final Judgment, those finally judged go to one of three heavens, as befits their works, or to the Outer Darkness, which is Mormon hell.
So, since Glenn Beck’s salvation is in seven parts, of which Glenn Beck is currently only in Stage Three, (Mortality), even Glenn Beck ought to be questioning it — since it ain’t over yet and nobody, LDS or otherwise, has it until it is over, according to LDS theology.

This is a good place to recap and summarize where we have come with this so far. By concealing the relationship between Voyager Travel and the LDS, many well-meaning Christians were duped into contributing to the LDS Church and their efforts at LDS evangelism.
We were deceived into contributing to a religious system than cannot save and a god who is neither eternal nor Biblical, and a created, rather than Divine Jesus whose only qualification for the job was being a better planner than Satan.

We were tricked into providing money for use by Mormon missionaries that will lead people away from salvation rather than to it, and loaned our legitimacy to that cause by appearing together with thousands of others in a show of support that was supposed to be for Israel but was manipulated into a night to honor Glenn Beck’s ‘courageous’ stand of faith in a god who cannot save.

The entire premise of the tour was that of having the courage to stand for what we believed in. It began by deceiving the bulk of those attending who certainly would NOT have signed up with an outfit called LDS Travel by disguising it as something else.

The uneven yoking of the LDS, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, non-denominational and born-again Christians under a single religious banner may have sounded spiritual, but Satan is a spirit, as well.

There were other travel agencies, but Voyager was the one recommended by Glenn Beck. Is it possible that Glenn Beck didn’t know that Voyager Travel changed its name from LDS Travel in order to deceive non-Mormons? Is it conceivable that there could have been any other reason for concealing the LDS connection?

Beck said he researched the Voyager travel agency carefully. If he didn’t know about the LDS connection, he lied about researching it. If he did know, then he must have agreed to burying the connection between the LDS and Voyager Travel.

Glenn Beck’s tour was supposed to be about truth. But since the truth was inconvenient, it was surrounded by a bodyguard of lies.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” (2 Corinthians 6:15-16)

If the LDS really is just another Christian denomination, as its apologists insist, then why the deception? The answer should be obvious.

THE NORWAY SHOOTER IS NO FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN – (Print)
When Anders Behring Breivik shot and killed 68 people at a Labour Party summer youth camp on Norway’s Utoeya island and killed another eight in a bombing in Oslo on July 22, the media immediately began bellowing that a right-wing Christian fundamentalist had just committed the most deadly attack in Norway since WWII. The slaughter of dozens of children under any banner is not simply tragic, but abhorrent. Media outlets spoke too quickly when they asserted that Breivik was a fundamentalist Christian, however. Regardless of what Breivik’s Facebook page might have claimed, his actions and words demonstrate no relationship with fundamental Christianity, “right-wing” or otherwise. He in fact supports Darwinism and human logic, demonstrating a rationalist worldview rather than a Christian one.

As we consider the Norway shooting, we first and foremost must pray for the families and friends of those who lost their loved ones. We especially grieve for the families of the teenagers – unarmed kids – whom Breivik murdered in the name of freeing Europe. This man did not come upon armed enemies. He came to an island filled with children, dressed as a police officer to gain their trust. He called them to himself and then began to shoot them down at close range, following them to where they hid in tents and where they fled to the lake to escape. The grief felt in Norway right now is unimaginable, and our hearts and prayers go out to all the living victims of the rampage.

It is a horrific shame that the news outlets immediately began proclaiming that Anders Behring Breivik, the Norway Shooter, is a Christian fundamentalist. Breivik has willingly admitted that he has no personal relationship with God or Jesus, and his actions have nothing to do with what Jesus Christ taught.

What Breivik Believes:
On Friday, Breivik released a pdf file describing his beliefs and motivations for his attacks. His major complaint is against the Muslim invasion of Europe, along with the Marxists and multiculturalists he believes are letting it happen.

Breivik’s stated goal was to, “cause maximum amount of damage to the Labour Party to stop its recruitment” and to stop “a deconstruction of Norwegian culture and mass-import of Muslims.”

Breivik is not pro-Christianity. He is simply anti-Muslim. He possesses a desire to preserve the historical Christian culture of Europe, as though he were preserving apple pie and baseball in America or wieners and schnitzel in Germany. In fact, while the papers declared Breivik to be a Christian fundamentalist, he specifically placed himself against a government based on Christian fundamentalism.

He writes. “It is therefore essential to understand the difference between a ‘Christian fundamentalist theocracy’ (everything we do not want) and a secular European society based on our Christian cultural heritage (what we do want).”

Breivik’s version of Europe’s Christian culture has nothing to do with faith in God at all. It’s all about the non-Islamic cultural legacy of Europe. He says:

“So no, you don’t need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)). The PCCTS, Knights Templar is therefore not a religious organisation but rather a Christian ‘culturalist’ military order.”

While seeking to preserve Europe’s cultural heritage, Breivik envisions a perfect Europe coming about through ‘Logic.’ He states, “‘Logic’ and rationalist thought (a certain degree of national Darwinism) should be the fundament of our societies.”

Ah. Rationalist thought. That’s just it.

Breivik did not kill those kids because of any verse in the Bible or because he believed God told him to. He’s a believer in the human mind. He killed those teenagers and set off a car bomb in Oslo because, according to his rationale, it was the first step in achieving his purposes. He used his perfectly decent, albeit twisted, reasoning ability to justify the slaughter of dozens of unarmed human beings.

Many will argue that Breivik is insane, but Breivik’s writings are not the ravings of a lunatic. His writings are lucid and practical. He has simply taken the human ability to make logical choices and has removed from his equations all morality and the value of individual human life. Breivik, like the Nazis or Communists or any other group that justifies mass murder, demonstrates where human logic can lead in the absence of moral absolutes.

Fundamentalism:
Islamic fundamentalists have been repeatedly guilty of using violence in their efforts to bring humanity into submission to Allah, and there is a general world assumption that religious fundamentalism always eventually leads to violence in God’s name.

True Christian fundamentalism, however, would never lead to the shooting of teenagers. It couldn’t, because true Christian fundamentalism bases itself on the teachings and person of Jesus Christ. The real problems we Christians sometimes cause do not come from obeying Jesus, but from not obeying Jesus. Joshua took over the Promised Land, and David killed Goliath, but Jesus Christ never told his disciples to go out and commit violence in his name.

Jesus said:

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise,” (Luke 6:27-31).

That’s what Jesus taught.

Jesus told his followers he would send them the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13), and the Holy Spirit truly sets those who love Jesus apart from the members of all of the world’s religions. The Spirit of God does not promote evil and destruction. As Paul the apostle told the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law,” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The problem we Christians have is not that we are too filled with the Holy Spirit or too in love with God. If we were, we would obey God. We would be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, full of the wisdom and love of Christ. We Christians cause problems not when we stick to the fundamentals, but when we are not fundamentalist enough.

Norway shooter Anders Behring Breivik is definitely not a fundamentalist Christian, and his justifications for murdering 76 people on Friday should give pause to any who think that human rational thought will ultimately lead to utopia.

THE NORWAY SHOOTER IS NO FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN – (Print)
When Anders Behring Breivik shot and killed 68 people at a Labour Party summer youth camp on Norway’s Utoeya island and killed another eight in a bombing in Oslo on July 22, the media immediately began bellowing that a right-wing Christian fundamentalist had just committed the most deadly attack in Norway since WWII. The slaughter of dozens of children under any banner is not simply tragic, but abhorrent. Media outlets spoke too quickly when they asserted that Breivik was a fundamentalist Christian, however. Regardless of what Breivik’s Facebook page might have claimed, his actions and words demonstrate no relationship with fundamental Christianity, “right-wing” or otherwise. He in fact supports Darwinism and human logic, demonstrating a rationalist worldview rather than a Christian one.

As we consider the Norway shooting, we first and foremost must pray for the families and friends of those who lost their loved ones. We especially grieve for the families of the teenagers – unarmed kids – whom Breivik murdered in the name of freeing Europe. This man did not come upon armed enemies. He came to an island filled with children, dressed as a police officer to gain their trust. He called them to himself and then began to shoot them down at close range, following them to where they hid in tents and where they fled to the lake to escape. The grief felt in Norway right now is unimaginable, and our hearts and prayers go out to all the living victims of the rampage.

It is a horrific shame that the news outlets immediately began proclaiming that Anders Behring Breivik, the Norway Shooter, is a Christian fundamentalist. Breivik has willingly admitted that he has no personal relationship with God or Jesus, and his actions have nothing to do with what Jesus Christ taught.

What Breivik Believes:
On Friday, Breivik released a pdf file describing his beliefs and motivations for his attacks. His major complaint is against the Muslim invasion of Europe, along with the Marxists and multiculturalists he believes are letting it happen.

Breivik’s stated goal was to, “cause maximum amount of damage to the Labour Party to stop its recruitment” and to stop “a deconstruction of Norwegian culture and mass-import of Muslims.”

Breivik is not pro-Christianity. He is simply anti-Muslim. He possesses a desire to preserve the historical Christian culture of Europe, as though he were preserving apple pie and baseball in America or wieners and schnitzel in Germany. In fact, while the papers declared Breivik to be a Christian fundamentalist, he specifically placed himself against a government based on Christian fundamentalism.

He writes. “It is therefore essential to understand the difference between a ‘Christian fundamentalist theocracy’ (everything we do not want) and a secular European society based on our Christian cultural heritage (what we do want).”

Breivik’s version of Europe’s Christian culture has nothing to do with faith in God at all. It’s all about the non-Islamic cultural legacy of Europe. He says:

“So no, you don’t need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)). The PCCTS, Knights Templar is therefore not a religious organisation but rather a Christian ‘culturalist’ military order.”

While seeking to preserve Europe’s cultural heritage, Breivik envisions a perfect Europe coming about through ‘Logic.’ He states, “‘Logic’ and rationalist thought (a certain degree of national Darwinism) should be the fundament of our societies.”

Ah. Rationalist thought. That’s just it.

Breivik did not kill those kids because of any verse in the Bible or because he believed God told him to. He’s a believer in the human mind. He killed those teenagers and set off a car bomb in Oslo because, according to his rationale, it was the first step in achieving his purposes. He used his perfectly decent, albeit twisted, reasoning ability to justify the slaughter of dozens of unarmed human beings.

Many will argue that Breivik is insane, but Breivik’s writings are not the ravings of a lunatic. His writings are lucid and practical. He has simply taken the human ability to make logical choices and has removed from his equations all morality and the value of individual human life. Breivik, like the Nazis or Communists or any other group that justifies mass murder, demonstrates where human logic can lead in the absence of moral absolutes.

Fundamentalism:
Islamic fundamentalists have been repeatedly guilty of using violence in their efforts to bring humanity into submission to Allah, and there is a general world assumption that religious fundamentalism always eventually leads to violence in God’s name.

True Christian fundamentalism, however, would never lead to the shooting of teenagers. It couldn’t, because true Christian fundamentalism bases itself on the teachings and person of Jesus Christ. The real problems we Christians sometimes cause do not come from obeying Jesus, but from not obeying Jesus. Joshua took over the Promised Land, and David killed Goliath, but Jesus Christ never told his disciples to go out and commit violence in his name.

Jesus said:

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise,” (Luke 6:27-31).

That’s what Jesus taught.

Jesus told his followers he would send them the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13), and the Holy Spirit truly sets those who love Jesus apart from the members of all of the world’s religions. The Spirit of God does not promote evil and destruction. As Paul the apostle told the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law,” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The problem we Christians have is not that we are too filled with the Holy Spirit or too in love with God. If we were, we would obey God. We would be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, full of the wisdom and love of Christ. We Christians cause problems not when we stick to the fundamentals, but when we are not fundamentalist enough.

Norway shooter Anders Behring Breivik is definitely not a fundamentalist Christian, and his justifications for murdering 76 people on Friday should give pause to any who think that human rational thought will ultimately lead to utopia.

The flotilla organizers blatantly violate international law by trying to breach a legal maritime blockade. According to international and customary law, Israel has the legal right to impose a land and naval blockade on Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas is openly dedicated to Israel’s destruction, has been in an ongoing state of armed conflict against Israel, and has fired over 10,000 rockets into Israeli civilian centers. Israel has the legal right and responsibility to protect its citizens by inspecting goods entering Gaza to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.

The flotilla organizers intend to aid and support Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by members of the international community, including the U.S., Canada, Israel, the EU, Japan, and Jordan. Hamas’ founding document calls for the murder of Jews, the “obliteration” of Israel, and Israel’s replacement with an Islamist theocracy.

The flotilla organizers are trying to provoke a violent confrontation. If they were sincerely concerned about humanitarian aid for Gazans, they would deliver it through official Israeli entry points. Israel has repeatedly offered to deliver goods after officially inspecting them for weapons. The organizers have refused to comply. Instead, they hope their provocative, hostile breach of the blockade will compel Israel to use force and make Israel look like an aggressor.

Gazans are not facing a humanitarian emergency that justifies breaching the blockade. Humanitarian and consumer goods enter Gaza on a daily basis. UN officials repeatedly confirm that there is an ample supply of food and consumer goods. Israel only limits the entry of dual-purpose goods that could be used for weapons. International statistics indicate that Gazans have a higher standard of living than people in nearly all of Africa, including South Africa, as well as parts of Asia and the Middle East. In fact, Gaza faces a glut of goods, not a shortage of goods, according to recent press reports.

Hamas, not Israel, has caused the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas has chosen war against Israel instead of peaceful coexistence. It has imposed a repressive, dictatorial, fundamentalist regime on Gaza residents and has murdered its political rivals.

Flotilla organizers claim to be “nonviolent peace activists” and “human rights activists.” They are not. They are members of extremist organizations that support terrorist groups and are dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The Free Gaza Movement is an affiliate of the International Solidarity Movement, which opposes the existence of the Jewish state. The IHH (Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation) is a Turkish Islamist organization with links to jihadist organizations in Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere.

If flotilla organizers really were peace and human rights activists, they would not go to Gaza but to Libya or Syria, where the brutal Assad regime has arrested, tortured, and murdered thousands of nonviolent, freedom-seeking demonstrators and has caused thousands of others to become refugees.

The flotilla organizers are violating, not upholding, one of the most fundamental human rights—a nation’s right and responsibility to protect itself from enemies bent on murdering its citizens and destroying its state. “As a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens.” —U.S. President Barack Obama, May 1, 2011

International leaders oppose the flotilla:

US: “[G]roups and individuals who seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions. … We want to just reiterate that there are established and efficient mechanisms for getting humanitarian assistance through to Gaza.” —U.S. State Department Spokesman Mark Toner, June 1, 2011

UN: “The secretary-general called on all governments concerned to use their influence to discourage such flotillas, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict.” —Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, May 27, 2011

Canada: “Unauthorized efforts to deliver aid are provocative and, ultimately, unhelpful to the people of Gaza. Canada recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns and its right to protect itself and its residents from attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including by preventing the smuggling of weapons.” — Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, May 28, 2011

France: “[T]he boarding of any naval vessels which are known to have the intention of breaking the naval blockade imposed on Gaza is strongly discouraged, given the security risks associated with such an undertaking.” —Official Statement

EU: “I don’t consider a flotilla to be the right response.” —Catherine Ashton, EU High Commissioner for Foreign Policy

Turkey: “We are reconsidering our plans [about participating in the flotilla]. … From our point of view, the developments in neighboring Syria are critically important.” —IHH Board Member Hüseyin Oruç, June 14

Background on the 2010 Flotilla:

Israel offered to have the ships dock in Ashdod port and to transfer the aid to Gaza. This offer was made again and again. Five boats complied and were safely led to shore. The sixth boat refused.

The sixth boat – the Turkish Mavi Marmara – is the boat where the violence took place.#Armed with knives and metal bars, those on board the Marmara carried out pre-planned violence. A mob of extremists attacked each Israeli soldier. They threw one soldier off the top deck of the ship.

The Turkish boat was sent to provoke – it was funded and organized by a Turkish Islamist organization, the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), that has links to fundamentalist jihadi groups.

Israel transfers about 15,000 tons of supplies and humanitarian aid every week to the people of Gaza.

Israel said it will deliver any humanitarian aid that was in the boats to Gaza along with its own daily delivery of aid.

Israel left Gaza in hopes of peace in 2005 and, in return, received more than 8,000 rockets and terrorist attacks. Israel has sought peace and compromise with its neighbors for all of its 62 years, and it will continue to do so.

Hamas is responsible for the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis. Their racist charter calls for Islamic domination; their stance is unchanged, and they repress any Palestinians that try and counter their regime.

CONSERVATIVES WIN BIG IN CANADIAN ELECTIONS!
Not sure if you all heard or not, but we had another Federal Election in Canada last week.

This time the Conservative Government got a Majority Government, which is great news. It means that Stephen Harper remains our Prime Minister, and it also means that with a Majority Government, he can now pass conservative bills through the House of Commons with easier effort and can do so without another election for at least 4 years.

Other interesting tidbits that came out of the election is that the separatist Quebec Party, the Bloc Quebecois, was totally decimated, and for the first time in 18 years they no longer have enough seats in the House of Commons to be considered an official National Party. They held 54 seats in the last parliamentary sitting, and now they hold only 4. As they say in Quebec, “C’est la vie” (That’s life – Often used in disappointed resignation following some bad fortune).

Another interesting thing is that the slightly socialist leaning party of the NDP became the Official Opposition, which is a historical thing in Canada. The Official Opposition is the party that holds the most seats in the house next to the Prime Ministers party (which holds the most seats). A majority government is one in which the Prime Minister’s Party holds over 155 seats in the House of Commons. Meaning that if everyone voted on the issue, 155 seats would carry the vote no matter what the remaining 153 seats voted.

The reason we are excited about this move is not only the conservative thinking, or that Stephen is a Christian, but also little tidbits like this.

This is our Prime Minister’s own words, given in November of 2010 from Parliament Hill, Ottawa.

“Remembering the Holocaust is not merely an act of historical recognition. It must also be an understanding and an undertaking. An understanding that the same threats exist today. And an undertaking of a solemn responsibility to fight those threats.

Jews today in many parts of the world and many different settings are increasingly subjected to vandalism, threats, slurs, and just plain, old-fashioned lies.

Let me draw your attention to some particularly disturbing trends.

Anti-Semitism has gained a place at our universities, where at times it is not the mob who are removed, but the Jewish students under attack. And, under the shadow of a hateful ideology with global ambitions, one which targets the Jewish homeland as a scapegoat, Jews are savagely attacked around the world – such as, most appallingly, in Mumbai in 2008.

We have seen all this before. And we have no excuse to be complacent. In fact we have a duty to take action. And for all of us, that starts at home.

In Canada, we have taken a number of steps to assess and combat anti-Semitism in our own country. But of course we must also combat anti-Semitism beyond our borders, – an evolving, global phenomenon. And we must recognize, that while its substance is as crude as ever, its method is now more sophisticated.

Harnessing disparate anti-Semitic, anti-American and anti-Western ideologies, it targets the Jewish people by targeting the Jewish homeland, Israel, as the source of injustice and conflict in the world, and uses, perversely, the language of human rights to do so.

We must be relentless in exposing this new anti-Semitism for what it is. Of course, like any country, Israel may be subjected to fair criticism. And like any free country, Israel subjects itself to such criticism – healthy, necessary, democratic debate. But when Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack – Is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand. Demonization, double standards, de-legitimization, the 3 D’s, it is a responsibility, to stand up to them.

And I know, by the way, because I have the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations, or any other international forum, the easy thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israeli rhetoric, to pretend it is just being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of “honest broker.” There are, after all, a lot more votes, a lot more, in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand. But, as long as I am Prime Minister, whether it is at the UN or the Francophone or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israeli mob tells us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are, in the longer term, a threat to all of us.

Earlier I noted the paradox of freedom. It is freedom that makes us human. Whether it leads to heroism or depravity depends on how we use it.

We are free citizens, but also the elected representatives of free peoples. We have a solemn duty to defend the vulnerable, to challenge the aggressor, to protect and promote human dignity, at home and abroad. None of us knows whether we would choose to do good, in the extreme circumstances of the Righteous. But we do know there are those today who would choose to do evil, if they are so permitted. Thus, we must use our freedom now, and confront their anti-Semitism at every turn.

Our work together is a sign of hope, just as the existence and persistence of the Jewish homeland is a sign of hope. And it is here that history serves not to warn but to inspire.

As I said on the 60th anniversary of its founding, the State of Israel appeared as a light, in a world emerging from deep darkness. Against all odds, that light has not been extinguished. It burns bright, upheld by the universal principles of all civilized nations – freedom, democracy, justice.

By working together more closely in the family of civilized nations, we affirm and strengthen those principles. And we declare our faith in humanity’s future, in the power of good over evil.” – Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister.

And on February 16, 2010, foreign Affairs minister Peter Kent (under Stephen Harper), suggested that Canada stands ready to throw its full military weight behind Israel, telling a Toronto publication that, “an attack on Israel would be considered an attack on Canada.”

On Israel’s birthday in May 2008, Stephen Harper is also quoted as saying, “Our government believes that those who threaten Israel also threaten Canada, because, as the last world war showed, hate-fuelled bigotry against some is ultimately a threat to us all, and must be resisted wherever it may lurk.” – Stephen Harper
“In this ongoing battle, Canada stands side-by-side with the State of Israel, our friend and ally in the democratic family of nations,… We have stood with Israel even when it has not been popular to do so, and we will continue to stand with Israel, just as I have always said we would.” – Stephen Harper Please Keep the Canadian Prime Minister in your prayers. In this day and age, he stands somewhat alone on the world scene and only with God’s blessing can he remain strong.

The good news is that with a majority government, we won’t be going back to the polls for at least another 4 to 5 years (under normal circumstances). So that being said, and as long as Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister – Not ALL the people of the earth are gathered against her (cf. Zechariah 12:2-3).

MUSLIM MOBS KILL CHRISTIANS, BURN CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, May 6, 2011, http://www.wayoflife.orgfbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from AssistNews.net, April 22, 2011: “International Christian Concern (ICC) has told the ASSIST News Service that it has learned that Muslim rioters have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began on Monday, April 18, 2011, in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria. The rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck. ICC says that the Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner. Yet, impartial observers have called this election the fairest in decades. According to the Commonwealth observers’ report, ‘The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people.’ ICC sources states that it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria. The situation is beginning to calm since security forces were deployed and enforced a 24 hour curfew. Christian minorities living in northern Nigeria have faced repeated bouts of violence and discrimination at the hands of the Muslim majority. Since the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria in 2001, tens and thousands of Christians have been killed. ‘Christians in northern Nigeria are being killed and their churches and property destroyed for voting for the candidate of their choice. Why should churches be burned when just it’s an issue of politics? Why should Christians be killed just because someone won an election? Goodluck is not the president just for Christians; he is the president for every Nigerian. Why should Christians suffer because Jonathan won the election?’ said a Christian leader in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna.”